The Effie Awards, founded in 1968 by the New York Chapter of the American Marketing Association and now run by Effie Worldwide, celebrate best-in-class marketing online and off. Specifically, Effie Worldwide rewards "Ideas that Work": great ideas that achieve real results and the strategy that goes into creating them. Today, the Effies has launched a home for excellence in marketing on YouTube with the Effie Worldwide Channel. The channel will feature video case studies of Effie-winning campaigns across industries, from Rolling Rock to Stride.

Last year, YouTube played a role in more than 50% of Effie-winning campaigns. For some champs, YouTube was a fundamental part of their campaign, where homepage placements and contests were designed to engage the community; for others, it was a happy accident when our community noticed the marketing effort and carried it forward virally, via parodies, video responses, comments, ratings, and sharing. Regardless, Effie-winning campaigns prove that a great piece of content with a message that resonates with consumers can generate momentum anywhere, whether offline (around the watercooler) or online in places like YouTube.

We hope you'll find this channel a useful tool as you plan your next campaigns. We also invite you to join us as we dig deeper into three winning campaigns next month in Part II of a four-part webinar series, "Effie Case Studies: Ideas That Worked." (You can register for this seminar on this page.) This free webinar will be co-hosted by Effie Worldwide and YouTube, and will feature speakers from the agencies and clients who created these outstanding campaigns. The webinar will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the most effective marketing ideas and strategies of the year. You'll learn how three award-winning campaigns -- McDonald's "Unsnobby Coffee" (DDB West), Clorox Green Works' "The Reverse Grafitti Project" (DDB West and the Clorox Company), and Mastercard's "Priceless Pep Talks" (Mcann-Erickson) -- arrived at their big ideas, effectively brought those ideas to life in engaging and interactive ways, and achieved real marketplace results.

And if you miss the live broadcast, just check the Effie World Channel -- an on-demand version will be posted there too.

Low competition for a keyword does not mean that it will be inexpensive. Competition is only one of the variables that determines your actual CPC. The price you pay for a click is also determined by your keyword's Quality Score for that query. If your keyword has a low Quality Score relative to the other ads on that page, you may find that your actual CPC is close to your maximum CPC, even though there is low competition for that keyword. Keep in mind that you will never be charged more than your maximum CPC for a click, no matter how low your Quality Score.

We're pleased to share that we'll be offering Google Analytics Seminars for Success in Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, IL, as well as a Google Website Optimizer Seminar for Success in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles seminars will be on July 29, 30 and 31, and the Chicago seminars will be on September 16 and 17. We've selected industry professionals from our Authorized Consultant network to teach these seminars, which cover both beginner and advanced topics.

Day one will provide an introduction to Google Analytics and day two will cover how to install and configure the advanced features and capabilities of Google Analytics. The Google Website Optimizer session will cover landing page testing.

Join Google and Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) for the upcoming webinar Using Online Ads to Drive In-Store Sales. In this webinar we'll review a snapshot of online advertising today, emerging trends, and general implications for retailers, as well as case studies showcasing how marketers measure the impact of online advertising on in-store sales, with findings and investment returns. In addition, we'll discuss the strategies marketers can take to measure and optimize this impact.

If the words "web analytics" make your ears perk up, join us for some straight talk from our experts on the topic. The Analytics team is creating a series of Data Driven Discussion videos on the Google Analytics YouTube Channel, unrehearsed discussions about web analytics, design, and testing. Your host, Jeff Gillis, Product Marketing Manager, poses a question to the panel - Nick Mihailovski, Developer Relations Engineer and Avinash Kaushik, Analytics Evangelist - then guides the conversation.

Tune in to listen to their thoughts on the value of segmenting your data and which segments are most valuable. And check out the practitioners debate, where Avinash and Nick discuss their points of contention and ideological differences when it comes to web analytics.

Planning to attend SES San Jose? If so, be sure to register using the discount code 20GOO for a 20% discount on your conference pass.

While at the conference, be sure to stop by the Google booth and to listen in on the panels with Google speakers, ranging from Google Analytics to ads quality. In addition, on day 1 of the event, Google and YouTube, along with Clickz, are sponsoring Social Media & Video Strategies, where we'll share how you can promote your clients' videos and execute successful campaigns via social media sites and Twitter. Finally, don't miss the Google sponsored sessions: Convert Your Visitors to Customers and Google Analytics and Website Optimizer, Secrets Revealed!

It's Monday, which means we've got a Quality Score fact for you. The fourth post in our series is:

Ads may not be shown on all search results, even for queries that advertisers are bidding on. Some keywords have such low Quality Scores that ads are unlikely to show on them. Therefore, there may be keywords in your client's account that don't show any ads at all. You may want to try optimizing the ad creatives associated with those keywords to make them more specific and relevant, thereby increasing the likelihood they'll be shown. You can also find out why your client's ad may not be showing for a given query by using the Ads Diagnostic Tool.

To keep you ahead of the curve heading into the fall, we'll be hosting two additional webinars next week.

Google and Harris Interactive present: The Evolving Life Insurance ShopperWhat role does online media play throughout the process of purchasing life insurance, and what types of media hold the greatest opportunity to help you reach your customers?

Join Google and Harris Interactive for a close examination of the life insurance purchase process from browsing online quotes to the purchase, whether it be online or through an agent.

Our presenters will focus on online users, as research shows that a majority of their entire purchase process is spent on the web.

Cast a Wide Net: New Content StrategyIf you'd like to get more out of the Google Content Network, we have a new strategy that will allow your clients to expand their reach while keeping their ROI constant. Learn how the "cast a wide net" strategy will help clients enhance existing Content Network campaigns and help you to streamline new campaign creation based on step-by-step advice.

As the third post in our semi-regular industry spotlight series, we're featuring two new resources created by our Travel Marketing team: a webinar discussing the most important travel resources for consumers, and a Google Content Network case study highlighting how an airline used display ads to increase brand awareness and sales in a difficult market.

Webinar: Google and OTX Present: The Traveler's Road to DecisionWondering which online and offline channels are the most influential to a travel booker, or what resources they utilize before booking? And how does this behavior vary among different types of travelers?

To answer these questions, Google partnered with Online Testing Exchange to explore how travelers make decisions and to identify key points where brand message can make a difference. Join your hosts on Tuesday, July 21st at 10:00am PDT to learn:

What the most important travel planning resources are for consumers

How behavior among affluent, business, and leisure travelers differs

Where and why search engines are used in the travel booking process

When online travel videos are viewed and how they influence purchase decisions

They started with a limited display ads test on the Google Content Network, targeting images of Hawaii to three key audiences: families going on vacation, baby boomers, and seniors. The images resonated with users, and the test successfully hit the company's sales goals, leading to further investment in display ads in the summer of 2008. Despite high fuel costs affecting travel behavior, Hawaiian Airlines saw 3% year-over-year growth in ticket orders and revenue, and display ads are now a core part of their advertising strategy.

Next, they tested the "What Island Am I?" application, which enabled Hawaiian Airlines to effectively reach new customers and help them plan their trips. According to Brooke Boyle, Razorfish search manager, “The ‘What Island Am I?’ campaign performed better than all of the other media we purchased, and branding with display paid off and fueled our search campaigns.”

We're excited to bring you a new case study highlighting how a telecommunications client successfully used YouTube to connect with customers and maintain its brand.

When you're a company that has been around for more than a century, you've not only been doing something right, but you also have the pressure to maintain that reputation. Enter Embarq, a telecommunications provider which started out in 1899 as the Brown Telephone Company, and continues to offer its services to customers across 18 states. How was Embarq able to continue sharing its innovations with customers and remain a strong brand in an increasingly competitive landscape? Enter YouTube.

Embarq employed a number of strategies on YouTube, including targeted display ads and a YouTube Brand Channel, and developed a video contest in partnership with the digital marketing agency iCrossing. These tactics resulted in increased viewership of its how-to videos, positive brand references on forums and blogs, and strong sales of its high-speed Internet service with the lowest cost-per-order of any campaign run during that timeframe. According to Zena Weist, manager of interactive brand strategy for Embarq:

“The results not only showed us how effective YouTube is as a marketing platform, but it also showed us what content really resonates with our audience.”

How can you also find success with brand advertising on YouTube?

1. Be where users are: advertise on YouTube. You can promote your clients' video content using YouTube Promoted Videos, which shows ads based on keyword searches. You can also directly target specific pages where you know the customers will be using text, video and image ads. The Placement Tool can help you find the right sites and easily upload them to your clients' accounts.

2. Centralize communication strategy with a YouTube channel. All users may create channels for free. Using a YouTube channel, clients can centralize video content and educate and communicate with customers in a single location. If you think your clients qualify, you may also consider creating a YouTube Brand Channel like Embarq.

3. Engage users with a contest. Contests are an effective way to engage users with your brand and increase opportunities for viral marketing. Paid advertisers may be able to run contests through the official YouTube "Contests" section.

You're about to run to a meeting but you urgently need to update the tracking URLs for one ad group in your largest client account. Do you make the changes or get to the meeting on time? The answer is both, now that you can bypass downloading the entire account into AdWords Editor.

When relatively minor changes become daunting when faced with a large client account, just quickly download the campaigns you need to work on. The video below is your step-by-step guide to downloading specific campaigns.

Please join us for three upcoming webinars, relevant to search specialists and agencies which support clients globally and in the Healthcare industry.

State of Search 2009: Online Marketing in the New EraJoin us on Wednesday, July 15th at 10am PST / 1pm EST as we share findings from new research on the evolution of consumer search behavior and discuss key strategies marketers can take to adapt to these changes. During this webinar we will discuss:

Capture, Grow, Maintain: Building Global Relationships with Your ClientsAs an agency, you often face questions on how to best work with a client on a global scale. The purpose of this webinar is to understand the steps needed to get a global buy started, learn about global relationship structures, and understand best practices for running a global campaign. In addition, you’ll get insight into how to work best with Google globally.

Please join us on Thursday, July 16th at 2:00pm EST / 11:00am PST when our Global Development Manager, Jared Smith, will lead a discussion on how to best work with your clients on a global scale.

Google's Hospitals Research WebinarNow more than ever, consumers are coming online for health information. Not only are they using the internet to research, but they are also taking actions based on the information they find online. Do you have an online presence? Are you adapting your online strategies to meet your consumers needs?

In a recent study, Google explored how consumers use the internet to select hospitals. This webinar will cover these findings and walk through best practices for digital hospital marketing. The insights should help you best utilize the Internet and search in your marketing programs.

This webinar will take place on Thursday, August 6th at 2:00pm EST / 11:00am PST. Click the link and register using the password below.

Along with your morning coffee, your Monday Quality Score fact is here. The third fact in our series is:

Restructuring your account does not cause you to lose your historical Quality Score information. The historical performance of your keywords, ads, and landing pages is preserved when you restructure your account. Therefore, we encourage you to restructure or optimize your client's account structure as needed.

Being in the right places at the right times can be the determining factor for successful ads. Google Ad Planner can help you ensure that your clients' ads are indeed in the right places by identifying sites relevant to your target audience.

For more details on how to leverage Google Ad Planner and how to research information about sites (both on and off the Google Content Network) that your audience is likely to visit, join us for our upcoming webinar: Researching Your Media Plan through Google Ad Planner on Tuesday, July 15th.

You can register here with the passwords below. And make sure you have a client ID number handy to complete your registration.

As Google customers, both you and your clients care that people can find you on the Internet. If your clients have one or more physical locations, it's just as important that customers can find them on the map.

For example, last week I needed directions to a hotel in Sacramento that I had booked for the 4th of July weekend. As I had never been to Sacramento, I was puzzled by the limited directions on the hotel's site - I had no idea whether I was approaching from the North, South, East or West or where the major highways were. What I needed were step-by-step directions from my exact starting point to the hotel that I could easily print and go.

The Google Maps team is excited to tell you about a simple way that you and your clients can add customized directions to your business locations. With the Google directions gadget, any website can offer customized door-to-door directions powered by Google Maps. You no longer need to type and update multiple sets of text directions. Let's face it - customers are only looking for directions from their specific location.

The gadget allows you to pre-fill the "To" field with one or multiple addresses, a generic zip code or even a specific set of latitude-longitude coordinates. Customers are able to print their directions with a single click. If they would prefer not to drive, the gadget also provides walking and public transit directions.

We're back with our second Quality Score fact. This week's contribution to our newly revived series is:

Quality Score does not suffer when your ads are paused or showing infrequently. One of the factors that determines Quality Score is the performance of a keyword in combination with its associated ads. Pausing ads or showing them infrequently doesn't affect Quality Score since they aren't accruing any performance data while they're not active. So there's no need to worry if you run seasonal or low-exposure campaigns for your clients, your Quality Score won't drop while the ads aren't showing.

Earlier this year, Google published research highlighting how the economic conditions had changed online buying behavior. Users are researching more online and looking for deals when it comes to purchasing products. Does the same hold true when it comes to dining?

To find out, we worked with Online Testing Exchange to survey patrons of both quick serve and casual dining restaurants. The results are in, and similar to online consumers, online diners are increasingly relying on the Internet for information and deals. Here's an overview of what we learned, and some tips on how to use this data to more effectively market your restaurant clients:

Diners are online, are you?: 90% of users go online for restaurant information (a 32% increase from 2008!), 80% use search as part of the decision process (with 1/2 of searches coming from mobile devices), and 70% use the Internet to choose a restaurant.

Later in the day = more planning: As the day progresses, diners spend more time deciding where to eat. While only 20% of diners spend an hour or more planning where to have breakfast, 46% spend an hour or more planning where to have dinner.

Tip: Optimize clients' accounts accordingly. For example, for breakfast goers, consider placing locations and promotions in the ads to help users make quick decisions. For dinner goers, experiment with ads directing to reviews and reservation pages.

Lost or indecisive? Try your phone: Of the 37% of Internet users who go online via mobile devices, 63% research restaurant related activities, 46% research locations and 29% research menus/food items.

Ad Planner celebrated its first birthday on June 24th, and what a busy year it's been. Based on your feedback, as well as publishers sharing site data and Google Analytics traffic numbers, we've been able to continually innovate to provide you the most accurate data measurements for your media planning.

To celebrate in style, we gave Ad Planner a facelift. You'll find all the same features that you know and love, but the new interface streamlines your research and media planning by making all of our features easy to find and use.